DENVER (AP) — Cale Makar sat out another practice session Tuesday on the eve of the Western Conference Final against Vegas.

Any cause for concern over the health status of the Colorado Avalanche defenseman heading into Game 1 on Wednesday?

Advertisement

“No,” coach Jared Bednar said. “Not yet.”

Makar, a Norris Trophy finalist, left the ice following a collision late in Game 5 against Minnesota, only to return as Colorado won the game — and the second-round series — 4-3 in overtime. He also briefly left Game 1 after taking a hit along the boards, with his right leg flying into the air before falling to the ice.

The 27-year-old Makar has four goals and an assist while averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice time through two rounds. He’s a crucial part of their offensive and special teams plans.

Asked what he’d say to fans worried about missing Makar for Game 1, fellow defenseman Sam Malinski responded: “I don’t know what to tell them. Obviously, it would be great to have him out here. You can’t replace him, and we’re going to miss him out there. Yeah, hopefully we can still get it done without him.”

Advertisement

Makar has missed some recent practices but no games as the Avalanche have gone 8-1 so far in the playoffs.

Should Makar not be able to go, it puts more responsibilities on Malinski, Devon Toews, Josh Manson, Brett Kulak, Jack Ahcan, Nick Blankenburg and the 41-year-old Brent Burns.

But not pressure.

“We’re all going to have to play a little bit more and we’ll be challenged with different situations,” Malinski explained. “I might have to penalty kill or whatever it is. But, yeah, I wouldn’t say we feel pressure. We’re just going to have to step up.”

Manson agreed.

“If he can’t go, it is what it is,” Manson said of Makar. “That’s a huge piece. You don’t replace a guy like that, right, so hopefully he can. If not, then guys will step and you fill roles and you just do what you can.”

Advertisement

Forward Artturi Lehkonen returned to practice Tuesday. He’s been dealing with an upper-body injury and didn’t play in the final two games of the Minnesota series.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola spoke to the media after his side’s Premier League game with Bournemouth

Pep Guardiola has spoken for the first time about his future at Manchester City, refusing to confirm or deny that he will leave the Blues this summer.

News broke on Monday evening that Guardiola was set to leave the Etihad after a trophy-laden decade but there was no official word from the club or the man himself.

Guardiola was not asked by Sky Sports about his future ahead of the game against Bournemouth, with City needing a win to take the Premier League title race to the final day, with the broadcaster saying it would be unfair to pose the questions on that subject, instead asking if the reports had impacted City’s preparation for the contest.

Click here to find out the latest Manchester City news in our daily newsletter

But after the game the City chief was asked to clarify his position and said he will confirm his future plans at the end of the season once he has spoken to Blues chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.

“I could say I have one more year of contract and with conversations I have had for many, many years always from my experience, when you announce whatever you announce during the competition is a bad, bad result,” he said.

“Like you understand the first person I have to talk to is my chairman because we decided when we finish the season we will sit and we will talk. Simple as that. And after we will take the decision.

“Listen, I have one more year contract, I will not tell you here because I have to talk to my chairman, my players, my staff. When we play for the FA Cup, before we qualify for the Champions League, we play for the Premier League, there is just one thing in my mind and the focus is try to win the team to the highest points and we have done.

“I am the happiest man in the planet to be at this club, this club is just extraordinary. At the moment the season is over for us, we want to arrive in the last game with our fans but I know they will come. In 10 seasons they have been good in many, many moments and that is what we have to do until the end.”

Pep Guardiola remained tightlipped on his future after Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth – a result that sees Arsenal win the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.

MATCH REPORT: Bournemouth 1 – 1 Manchester City

Available to UK users only.

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark will serve as grand marshal of the 110th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, race officials announced Tuesday. The green flag is set to drop at 12:45 p.m. ET at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and will be broadcast on FOX.

Clark’s role involves giving the traditional command for drivers to report to their cars during the official pre-race ceremonies. Other sports stars who have shared this honor include former Fever legend and 2012 WNBA champion Tamika Catchings, five-time MLB champion Derek Jeter, two-time Super Bowl winner Peyton Manning and three-time NBA champion Larry Bird.

“I’m honored to represent Gainbridge as grand marshal of the Indy 500,” Clark said in an official statement. “I’m looking forward to experiencing an iconic piece of what makes Indiana so special and being part of the time-honored tradition of ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’”

The green flag, which indicates the official start of the race, will be waved by Academy Award-winning actor and Indianapolis native Brendan Fraser.

Since the race takes place during the WNBA season, Clark’s game schedule kept her from participating in race-week activities in previous years. However, this year’s schedule worked out in her favor. The Fever will be in the middle of a six-day break after Friday’s home game against the Golden State Valkyries.

Despite only being in her third WNBA season, Clark is already one of the biggest superstars in basketball. During her time with the Iowa Hawkeyes, Clark set an NCAA Division I career scoring record with a total of 3,951 points. The Fever selected Clark as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 draft and she went on to win Rookie of the Year while setting the WNBA rookie record for total points scored in a single season, as well as the single-game assist record (19) and the single-season assist record (322).

“Since being drafted by the Fever, fans have been clamoring to share the epic celebration and thrilling excitement of Indy 500 Race Day with Caitlin,” INDYCAR and IMS President J. Douglas Boles said in a statement. “Through our incredible partnership with Gainbridge, everyone joining us for the world’s largest single-day spectator sporting event will get to do just that. Caitlin will bring unique energy and presence to a quintessentially Hoosier experience and an absolutely bucket list global sporting spectacle.”

The race is presented by online financial services company Gainbridge, a company Clark has been an ambassador for since her senior year with the Hawkeyes. The Fever play their home games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which they also share with the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.

Despite strong fan support, Edmonton still does not have a PWHL team, and the reason may come down more to logistics than interest. The Professional Women’s Hockey League is growing quickly, recently adding Detroit, Hamilton and Las Vegas as new markets. Edmonton, though, has not joined that list despite showing it can draw crowds.

During the 2025 Takeover Tour, more than 17,500 fans attended the Edmonton stop, one of the highest totals on the tour. The city also drew crowds above 10,000 for other PWHL games, showing there is clearly an audience for women’s hockey.

The bigger problem may be finding a home arena. Rogers Place already has a busy schedule with the Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton Oil Kings sharing the building. Between the two teams, there are 75 home games across the season.

Once concerts and other events are added, fitting in another hockey team becomes difficult, especially since the PWHL now plays a longer schedule than it did in its early seasons. Ownership is another part of the issue.

The PWHL owns all of its teams directly instead of using separate ownership groups. That means any Edmonton team would likely need an agreement with Oilers Entertainment Group to play at Rogers Place without being owned by OEG.

According to Ice Warriors Media Group, the league and OEG did discuss bringing a team to Edmonton but were unable to reach an agreement. A smaller arena does not seem like an easy answer either. Downtown Community Arena only seats about 1,000 people, which is far below the size most PWHL teams play in.

So while Edmonton looks like a strong hockey market for the league, scheduling issues and arena arrangements may be what is keeping a team out of the city for now.

PWHL expansion keeps moving ahead without Edmonton

While Edmonton is still without a team, the Professional Women’s Hockey League has continued to add new markets at a fast pace. The league recently announced San Jose as its 12th franchise, adding another city to an expansion group that already included Detroit, Hamilton and Las Vegas.

That growth has come quickly. The PWHL started with six teams in 2023 and has now doubled in size in just a few seasons.

San Jose will play out of SAP Center, home of the San Jose Sharks. The city also brings a large market, growing interest in women’s sports and strong girls hockey participation.

The league’s executive Amy Scheer said San Jose’s hockey background, women’s sports scene and community growth all played a role in the decision.2

The league could also change how it is organized as more teams come in. Officials have previously discussed using conferences or divisions as travel becomes a bigger part of the schedule.

The league owns all of its teams and is backed by Mark Walter and Kimbra Walter. With 12 teams now in place, including seven in the United States, the league may also be in a stronger position when it comes to landing a national broadcast partner.